I was going to beginning by saying that I have another Twitter Tale for my readers, but really when I look at how the following events played out, I realized that Twitter was but only one of the tools that allowed for a group of eighth graders in Missouri to connect with my three year old daughter in Qatar.
Like many stories of connections made across time zones, cultures, and age groups this one involved some risk taking, some curiosity, some opened minds, and I hope some learning. Let me lay out what happened:
A few days ago I started reading The Last Child in the Woods. It sparked in me a sense of panic and guilt about the amount of time my daughter spends outdoors connecting to nature, getting fresh air, and exploring. I decided I wanted us to begin exploring our surroundings together. Even if our immediate surroundings was an empty dry desert field covered in garbage and construction refuse.
We went outside with our cameras in hand to see what we could discover. I wish I had a field recorder, so I could have recorded her excitement and enthusiasm. We spoke of the wind, the setting sun, and how plants can grow with little water. We spoke about the power of art to make the ugly appear beautiful. We asked questions of each other. We guessed at answers. The two of us were a mobile outdoor classroom. Father and daughter in an empty field in the desert.
When we came home I asked her if she wanted to see her pictures on the big screen of the computer and talk about what she had seen. The result was a very simple photo essay. Being the proud dad that I am, I decided to share the experience with my Twitter network. I thought that was the end of it, until last night when I noticed several comments come pouring in. After a quick request as to who was responsible I found out that @wmchamberlain had shared Kaia’s blog post with his class. I suggest you go and read some of the 43 comments.
I immediately got in touch with him through Twitter, and he told me that a few of his students were curious if we had electricity in Doha. I told him, if he was interested, I could Skype into his classroom and answer some quick questions. So there we were, a small classroom in rural Missouri and me in my kitchen talking about our surroundings. We were following our curiosity. We were discovering new things. We were learning, beyond classroom walls, because we had all decided to take risks and be open with our lives. I told wmchamberlain’s students that since Kaia is only three she may have a hard time reading their comments and really grasp what is going on. I suggested they create some video comments. Which they did:
The next day Kaia and I sat in our kitchen and watched their video. She is still too young to really grasp the connections that she is making, but in a few years these connections and this type of interaction will be ubiquitous in her life. I hope that her teachers are ready to help her continue on this journey.
Later I found another comment from a teacher in New Zealand and a Tweet from another teacher in Alaska who was impressed by the work she had observed unfold on Twitter. This story would be pretty cool if it ended here, but I hope that other teachers and other classroom will share this story with their classrooms and parents communities. I hope that this story could not only be a springboard for starting discussion about open pedagogy, taking risks, and connected classrooms, but I also hope that it will open people’s eyes to the themes presented in The Last Child in the Woods. I would love to see people share their stories about how they are taking their kids outdoors. I hope that classrooms will begin to share how they are reconnecting with nature. The irony being that they are using technology to weave their stories together.
In closing and on a different note, this experience was also eye opening for me as a parent, because having Kaia exposed like this made me hyper aware of how vulnerable I am making her. I am sure many of you read Alec Curosa’s post a few month back about his Flickr stalker. I started to think about how much trust we ask that parents put in us as teachers. Kaia’s blog started as a way to share photos with family, it has quickly become a way that we are documenting her life. And now, it is becoming a way that she is connecting with people throughout the world. This is scary. Part of me wants to pull back and keep her our little secret. But if we want our students to feel comfortable and be cautious online, we must be able to do the same with our own children.
As teachers and technology evangelist it is easy to ask parents to allow us to expose their children to a variety of experiences online, but as a parent it can all seem so scary. I agree with many people that if we choose to live open lives online, we must trust that the positive experience will outweigh they dangerous ones, but there is nothing like seeing pictures of your daughter on a youtube video created by someone else to spark up the paranoia. Where can this go? Will I always be able to control it? Should I be able to? These are all important questions to ask as we push the boundaries of our lives and our learning online.
What do you think? What is the value in this experience? Is the risk of exposing ourselves and our children online worth the connections that will be made and the lessons that will be learned?
Pingback: Tweets that mention Singing Hearts | Intrepid Teacher -- Topsy.com
So cool. Thanks for sharing.
Like you say – so very hard. But I want my kids to learn and experience the incredible feeling of these connections. I’m trusting there are more people like you out there – I’m trusting together we can make it safe.
I don’t want them to miss out because they are hiding. Or be at risk in the future, because I didn’t teach them in a safe environment – before it was too late.
I love that you are being real with what you teach. You’re living it.
Thank you for that model.
Honestly, I never thought about privacy concerns while going through this whole process. I am known as someone that advocated transparency in classroom (obviously since I stream live video from my classroom) and have had several conversations about opening up learning.
While I am very protective of my daughters (four of them) here, I never worry about their online activities. I know and they know that any problems online can be easily delt with by turning off the computer or even using blocking which is becoming ubiquitous in online social networks.
I don’t want this to sound like I think your feelings are wrong, I just don’t have them. I did read Alec’s post as well as a few by Wesley Fryer that made me stop and think. I teach my students and children they need to be careful about their online presence, I just find the world outside the door a much scarier place than the online world.
On a less serious note, we really enjoyed how yesterday unfolded. I had a conversation this morning with a student where we talked about what he was doing today. He said he was doing the “same old boring stuff like yesterday”. He stopped and said, “Except for in your class, that was really cool!”
Obviously, there’s the issue of putting your little girl ‘out there’. It makes you feel vulnerable and you wonder if you’re doing the right thing. But you’ll be watching carefully, and you’ll be educating her along the way. Just as you would do in life.
I was thinking about what we put ‘out there’ in our blogs about ourselves. Why do we do it, is it inappropriate? shameless? egotistical? Is personal privacy going out the window? Or is it a new way of communicating with people? I love being able to read other people in a way that previously only happened in autobiographies. Today I read a blog by someone I didn’t know and hadn’t heard of but he was talking about how one of his twin babies died and how the other one was battling to survive in hospital. It made me cry. Why was I affected? Why did I care? Because we’re all human, and our experiences put us in tune with others. That’s how empathy is possible.
I feel more connected with people and their blogs, flickr photos. Surely that could lead to greater understanding and tolerance. I’m Russian Orthodox and the blogger with the babies is Jewish. Surely we experience pain and love for our children in the same way. I would rather read that account straight from the blogger than via newspaper article or edited book. People are letting us into their lives. Is there anything wrong with that?
This is what learning should be about. I was speaking with a friend of mine trying to stimulate staff development in New York Schools. They are trying to do it in a closed system – only in NYC. My response was you will not get the yeast to activate a closed system. They must engage the world. It is so important to energize learning through the techniques you, Mr. Chamberlain and others are using. I am not concerned about the issues of letting people into our lives. I think it is absolutely essential if we are to move forward with true learning, for all of us.
Keep up the good work!
Pingback: The yeast to activate learning « Brave new world
My name is Ashley.Im from Dr.Strange’s class. I think what you do for your daughter is amazing.I think more kids are age should get the experience she’s getting to show them that it is a great way of getting to know their surroundings.Your daughter is a beautiful girl and a blessing to those who have yet to experience what she’s able to do. Good Luck with everything.I wish yall the best.
I think it is a good idea to expose young kids to networking. You can teach them the do’s and do not’s of internet safety at an early age. Also, they will be exposed to things and ideas that may be useful in their future as students.
I’ve got a 4 year old son who has just recently started Skyping his grandparents several states away. Kaia’s setting the bar for other children her age. I’m looking forward to similar experiences with both of my children.
Cade Somers
Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 TT 2 Class at the University of South Alabama
I have created a short video for Kaia. It is posted on my site. I am from Dr. Strange’s EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I hope yall enjoy it!
Thanks for posting,
Dillon Rogers
http://rogersdedm310fall2009.blogspot.com/
I believe that just as our daily lives involves negatives and danger, so does the digital world, and both continue to expand beyond our imagination. I’m happy to see you’re documentation of Kaia’s life and am inspired by your post.
-May Laughton
Dr. Strange’s EMD 310 Class and
Fellow Pearl Jam fanatic
Pingback: | Intrepid Teacher
I think its a remarkable story. Just by showing her and exposing her to what is out in the digital world is a skill she will have for a life time. I as you said, I hope teachers and upcoming teachers are ready to handle and guide students like Kaia.
Alexandria H.
Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL
Pingback: Most Influential Blog Post | Intrepid Teacher
Hello again,
I do wonder about privacy and how you can no longer control your own information once it’s “out there”. I’m always careful with pictures that are put on facebook. I want to be a teacher. I don’t want to be sitting in an interview and have party pictures pulled up. My teacher once told me, “Never have a picture taken you wouldn’t want your father to see”.
Dr. Strange’s class has helped my to feel more comfortable on the internet. There is such a wealth of knowledge that can be obtained from the internet “clouds”.
[riffly_audio]307065F2384D11DF94BCC751272CF880[/riffly_audio]
Mr. Raisdana,
Your blog and your daughter’s blogs have really been a pleasure for me as an aspiring educator and an aspiring mother (to say the least!). Giving Kaia these online and real-life experiences will follow her for the rest of her life. I can understand your hesitancy about “putting her out there,” but along with this experience comes appreciation and self-awareness. I believe that Kaia will be an inspiration to many children her age, children much older than her, AND adults looking for her kind of enthusiasm for life and everything in it – beautiful or “not.”
As for the impact on Mr. Chamberlain’s class: these students will remember this lesson for the rest of their lives, as I’m sure Kaia will, also. Reading about places is one thing – feeling like you’re a part of that place, in touch with that place…is a completely different story: a longer-lasting, more fulfilling story.
Thank you so much for sharing your hard work and your beautiful daughter with me and everyone else blessed enough to find her. She is an inspiration! I can’t wait to show my four-year-old little sister the things that Kaia has done – because maybe then, she can understand that she, too, can do wonderful things like this!
Jessica Ferris
Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class
University of South Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Hey, this is Haley another one of Dr. Strange’s class. I think that you should not keep Kaia a secret. One can’t live in fear, because then you cannot experience things to the fullest. However, you should be smart and cautious. I think you are doing a great job, and I hope to hear more form you and Kaia. I am also following you on twitter.
Jabiz,
I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I am not yet a parent, but hope to be one someday and I can see where you would question yourself on wether or not to “share” her on the internet. There are always going to dangers in everything you do with her. If you show her as she gets older how to be careful and I think that she will understand the dangers and how to steer clear of them. I commend you on being actively involved in you children’s lives because so many parents today are not. She will treasure this time you and her have spent together and she will grow to appreciate everything you have done for her. Good Luck to all of you!
Hi,
I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. When Dr. Strange first told us about Kaia, I was so excited to read your blogs. I am so amazed your the intellectual ability Kaia has. She seems like a wonderful daughter who is filled with adventure and curiosity. The fact that you created a blog to chart her life is such a great idea. I lost a lot of pictures and memories after my house was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. I do not have children, but I would love to create the same opportunities for my future students and maybe children one day. She is learning so much, and I know she has touched so many lives. Thank you for sharing her with the world, and I think it is wonderful that you are teaching her and allowing her to experience the great aspects of life. I think you are doing a fantastic job, and I appreciate your willingness to let her grow and the love you have for her.
Thanks,
Jamie Lynn Miller
I am also from Dr. Strange’s class. As a parent I know it is hard not to hide our kids away, on the flip side of the coin, they need to see and share cultures and points of view. Thank you for sharing your little girl and her thoughts with the world!
Tabitha
I am also in Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class and I have really enjoyed reading and learning about your story. Just as Jamie Lynn stated, thank you for sharing Kaia with the world. She is such an inspiration to all of us. She is such a beautiful young lady and I really think it is great that you have started a blog to share her story. When Kaia gets older, she will look back and enjoy all of the memories you have captured for her. Thank you for sharing.
I am also in Dr. Strange’s class. Thank you for sharing your daughter with us. She is so lucky to be involved with technology at such a young age.
[riffly_audio]2078C3943D3C11DFBCA7C751272CF880[/riffly_audio]
Hey
This is Brittany South. You can go look at my blog at southbrittanyedm310.blogspot.com for the summary and response to this blog. Thanks again for sharing the experience.
I think it is wonderful that you are so interactive with your daughter. I watched the video and at this rate that Kaia is learning things, she will be a great person some day. I agree when you say that the internet is scary. However it is so beneficial! Many things can be accomplished because of the way people can get in touch with one another.
I think it’s amazing how you’re documenting your daughters’ lives! Kaia will be able to look back one day and appreciate the education you are giving her! I am a student of Dr. Strange’s this semester, and I’ll be summarizing my visit to your pages if you want to check out my blog: http://www.longeneckerhollyedm310.blogspot.com
I am not a parent yet but I can empathize with your concerns. I imagine that you will be teaching your daughter safe screen time practices and you should have nothing to worry about, though. Thank you for your involvement and advancement of education, and reminding us how much we can learn from the outdoors and sharing how we feel using technology.
As a future educator, and a student whom is new to the blogging world thanks to my EDM 310 class, partly inspired by Mr. Chamberlains blogs, I have always been worried about the safety of the children we are exposing, but by constantly overseeing what our children are doing, and who they are being exposed to, I think that the world they are about to embark upon is filled with endless creative learning opportunities. I was first shown Kaia’s blog in my EDM 310 class which was made known to us from Mr. Chamberlain. What a bright girl she is! I was amazed at how such a young girl captured her surroundings in such a positive light. I think that one thing the world is missing is the appreciation for beauty in all things, and I think Kaia’s blog is bringing this topic to light. So often we as adults get caught up in the day to day activities and obligations we forget to appreciate what we have surrounding us, the beauty in the outdoors, the enthusiasm in another face, or the innocent giggle of a child. I truly feel that by you exposing Kaia and her ability to take “simple pictures” reassures us as adults to look at life in a simpler point of view! I am following Kaia’s blog, and will be following yours as well, and I cannot wait to see what you both have in store for the world! Thank you for sharing such a journey with us all!
Hello,
My name is Marianne and I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at South Alabama. Reading this blog and Kaia’s blog has inspired me to really look at my surroundings. I know that I do often take it for granted. I should appreciate all the beauty that is in the world today not just here in Alabama, but around the world. I am looking forward to reading more on your blog. Thanks.
I was very impressed with the connection everyone has had to your posts and to your daughter. This type of learning cannot always happen in the classroom and deserves to be shared. We often get bogged down in safety issues and miss out on alot of great things yet to be found. Keep up the wonderful job with your child. I am also a student from USA EDM310.
My name is Samantha Pate. I am in Dr Strange’s EDM 310 class. It is great how close you and Kaia are. It is also so great what you are teaching her about photography and the outdoors. Each parent and educator should learn from you in that they are encouraging and teaching their children or students how to use technology at an early age. I know it has taught me. I believe that you two will be a great team and that Kaia is going to keep learning and excelling in all she does.
Hello I am from Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. Your posting is very interesting and really made me think. I see where you are coming from about documenting your daughters life and posting it to a blog or photo essays. I think that later in her future she will thank you for making all of this possible because this is something that is very unique and not all children get to experience this. It is important for people to learn through many different avenues. Rather than only being in a classroom to learn something, you can learn so much from being outside and really taking in your surroundings. Keep up the good work and may you keep learning from each other everyday!
This is a really cool story. It is awesome that they happened upon your daughter’s blog when they did, but at the same time I do understand your concerns.
WOW! How exciting! I have a 4 year old daughter as well and I’m sure this is incredible for her. I too did not think of the privacy issues at first. It seems so innocent and conducive for her education. She seems like a bright little one. I am sure it is because of this extra learning opportunity you are creating for her. Awesome job! 🙂
I do not thing about the privacy issue when I first see this, that never crossed my mind. I can see where that would come to a lot of parents minds though. I do not have children but I hope that I will be able to do something like this for my students when I become a teacher in a few years. I hope that parents can see past the “scary” part of the internet and see that this can help their children advance so much in life. I enjoyed your pictures very much. I can not believe that I live in a time that I can get on a computer and connect with someone on the other side of the world.
Pingback: There Is Nothing On The Internet That Is Not In Your Heart | Intrepid Teacher
Pingback: Singing Hearts from Intrepid Teacher | JayCollier.net